When most people think of a taxi cab, an image of a yellow sedan immediately comes to mind. While there are some exceptions in certain places (like London, where taxis are black) the most common taxi color is yellow in most places worldwide. In some cities and countries where taxis aren’t painted yellow, the taxi sign placed on top of the roof is usually yellow. The point? It seems that taxis and the color yellow are almost synonymous.

Many people are curious as to why yellow is the most common color choice for taxis. The answer is actually quite simple – yellow is a noticeable color, which helps passengers spot the taxi cabs more easily. There are, however, some facts about the yellowness of taxis you might not know.

The History of Taxis

The history of taxis goes back further than the automotive industry. Paris was one of the first cities to have taxis in 1640. London was also early to adopt a taxi system early. The Hackney Carriage Act, a set of regulations regarding taxis, was published as early as 1935! These early taxis were horse drawn carriages with drivers, as no cars existed at the time.

Cars became more popular around the late 1800’s. Although the first available cars were still slow and very expensive. Most middleclass working people were unable to afford a family car at the time. This created a good business opportunity for German inventor and entrepreneur Gottlieb Daimler, who started the first metered taxi company in the year 1897. Daimler invented his own automobile which he used for his taxis. He bought meters to measure the trip distances and travel times from another German inventor, Wilhelm Bruhn.

In 1891, the German inventor Wilhelm Bruhn invented an instrument to measure the amount of time or distance a vehicle has travelled. He called his invention a taximeter, and it allowed taxi drivers to determine rates for fares in a fair and precise manner. The similarity between the word taxi and the word taximeter is quite noticeable. This naming similarity is no coincidence though, as modern taxis are named after the taximeter.

Interestingly enough, Daimler’s contribution to the automotive industry stretches much further than the inception of the first metered taxis. Daimler’s automotive company, the Daimler Motor Corporation is still one of the biggest players in the automotive industry worldwide to this day.

Daimler Motor Corporation was made infamous for the production of Carl Benz’s patented car, which is considered to be the first car ever engineered. This was the result of an agreement between Carl Benz and a Daimler sales agent named Emil Jellinek in 1926. This agreement subsequently led to the inception of the Mercedes-Benz brand. Daimler Motor Corporation still owns the Mercedes-Benz brand.

Although cars weren’t very common or accessible before Henry Ford developed and introduced his Ford T model to the market in 1908, automotive taxis were popular in many cities around the world prior to Ford’s T model. In fact, in 1899, there were approximately 100 motorized taxis operating in the streets of New York City.

Even after the Ford T model became an affordable as a family car, the taxi industry still grew. Affordability can be relative, so many families still couldn’t afford to have a car, whereas other individuals simply enjoyed the ease and comfort of using a taxi cab.

Why Are Taxi Cabs Yellow?

Although the history of automotive taxis goes back to 1897, taxis weren’t always yellow. The yellow taxi cab was first introduced in 1915 by a car salesman named John Hertz. Hertz started selling cars in 1904. He soon found himself with a number of trade in cars, which he decided to use as taxi cabs in order to make automotive transportation more affordable to the wider public. By 1907, Hertz had seven trade in cars running in his fleet.

Hertz decided to put the color of his taxis to the test. He wanted to unify his fleet by painting all the cars in the same color. To make the cars stand out, he aimed to paint the cars in a color that can could easily be spotted.

Hertz decided to paint his taxis yellow because of a study by a Chicago university to establish what color would grab the attention of passersby more easily. The results proved that yellow with a touch of red was most noticeable. As a result, Hertz started to paint all his taxi cabs yellow and went on to start the Chicago-based Yellow Cab Company in 1915.

Hertz later went on to expand his business into the rental car business. In 1954, Hertz purchased a Chicago based car rental company named Rent-a-car Inc., which was originally founded by entrepreneur Walter L. Jacobs. He renamed his company to The Hertz Motor Corporation and expanded his business over time. Eventually, Hertz’s car rental company grew to one of the biggest globally and is still a household name in car rentals in modern day times.

The interesting fact about Hertz and his car rental company is that two major players in the development of the taxi industry owned businesses that are still well-known today: Hertz and Daimler. While Hertz and Daimler’s contributions to their bigger companies are well-known, few people know how the yellow taxi industry developed simultaneously with other advancements in the automotive industry. Also interesting is that both Daimler and Hertz started with taxi companies, expanding into other automotive industries later on.

Yellow Taxis Before Hertz

While Hertz was first to base the color of his taxis on a study, many taxis were painted yellow before Hertz’s. A lot of taxi fleet owners believed yellow to be a superior color that made taxis easy to recognize.

New Yorker Albert Rockwell started a taxi company in 1908. His wife, Nettie, liked the color yellow and suggested that Rockwell paint his taxis this color, along with a signature R on the doors to distinguish his taxis. Rockwell believed that his wife’s suggestion would help his taxis stand out, as yellow is a bright color. Albert Rockwell incorporated his company under the name, Yellow Taxi Cab Company in 1912, three years prior to Hertz’s Yellow Cab Company in 1915.

Before Rockwell’s yellow taxis. Taxis were painted all kinds of different colors. Each taxi company had their own unique way of painting. One of the first taxi company founders in America, Harry Allen from New York, painted his taxis in red and green.

Regardless of the fact that Rockwell most likely had the first yellow taxis, it was Hertz who popularized the color.

By 1969, New York City had restrictions on the colors that taxis were allowed to be. Yellow was the color of choice.

What Color Are Taxis in Miami?

Like most other US cities, Miami sports bright yellow taxis. Companies such as Miami-based Yellow Taxi Miami is one of the popular choices among local residents and tourists alike.

With rates as low as $2.95 per mile, Yellow Taxi Miami offers a highly affordable and easy-to-use taxi service in the greater Miami area. Arrangements can also be made for taxis to drop off and pick up passengers from the airport. Yellow taxi Miami offers commute to all of Miami’s most popular beaches, shopping centers and other attractions.

To make a scheduled appointment for a taxi or inquire about taxi services, you can contact Yellow Taxi Miami to learn more.

Are Yellow Taxis Really More Noticeable?

According to scientific research, red is the least noticeable color at a distance. Green is one of the colors that the human eye can most easily pick up during the day. The only problem with using green is that natural surroundings such as trees and grass are also green, which makes it more difficult for the color to stand out.

Even so, green remains as one of the easiest colors in the world to spot from a distance, with a bright green color, bordering between neon green and neon yellow, reportedly being the world’s most visible color.

There’s a difference between the most visible and brightest color, though. While green is most easy to see during the day, yellow is more noticeable in bad light conditions. Yellow is the brightest color in the spectrum, with the brightest color being very bright yellow.

So yes, yellow does stand out among other colors and can easily be spotted from a distance. What makes yellow taxi cabs even more noticeable, is that few cars that aren’t taxis are painted bright yellow.

While going on a trip is exciting and fun, sitting at the airport and making travel arrangements is never as enjoyable. Whatever the reason for your trip to Miami International Airport, you can make sure you’re prepared. By making travel arrangements to and from the airport in advance, as well as planning out a set schedule, there are many ways you can make your visit to Miami International Airport a pleasant one.

Before Going to the Airport

There are a few things that you might not yet have thought of that can help make your flight experience much more comfortable. There are so many things to organize when you’re making travelling arrangements, it’s easy for the smaller details to slip through the cracks.

Choose Your Outfit Ahead of Time

To start with, always decide what you’ll wear during your flight well in advance. This isn’t so you can make sure you’re looking stylish, however. Instead, choose some of your most comfortable clothing and make sure that every single item of clothing your wear on the flight is some of your most comfortable. At the same time, keep in mind that you still need to look presentable, so don’t go in anything too informal.

Choosing your outfit in advance means you’ll be able to make sure it’s washed and ready on the day of the flight. It will also help you remember not to pack your chosen outfit into your suitcase.

Make Sure You Know Where the Airport Is

Studying a map of the airport location beforehand can help a lot. Knowing where you’re headed to will prevent you from getting lost while traveling to the airport. You can also lookup to see if you’re able to find maps of the airport interior. This can help you keep track of where your gate and check in area will be.

Take Some Entertainment to Stay Busy

Also consider how you’ll keep yourself occupied during flights, or while waiting for your next flight connection. Take a good book, compile a playlist you like on your phone, or load some movies you want to watch onto your tablet. While many airplanes nowadays have inflight entertainment with movies, music and other entertainment, there’s no guarantee you’ll find something that suits your tastes. If you’re planning to watch movies or listen to music, also be sure to take a good set of headphones with you.

Traveling with Children

If you have children flying with you, also take some things to keep them busy, such as a coloring book with pencils, a tablet with their favorite movies or a handheld game console.

When traveling with a baby or toddler, keep in mind that many small children struggle with ear pain on flights. It might be worth it to visit your doctor to get a subscription for pain medication that can help. When taking any medication onboard a flight, it’s always best to have a prescription, even if the medication you’re taking is an over-the-counter drug.

Hand Luggage Allowances

Always be sure to check what the hand luggage guidelines are for whatever airline you’re flying with. Some airlines will allow you to take a small suitcase as well as one additional piece of luggage, such as a handbag or laptop bag. Other airlines will only allow one piece of hand luggage, meaning you’ll have to choose between a small suitcase or your laptop.

If you have any special equipment, such as a camera, check to make sure you’ll be allowed to take this on the flight with you as well.

Traveling with Animals and Pets

If you’re planning to take a pet, or work animal, such as a blind guide dog, also be sure to make travel arrangements for your pet well in advance. Arriving at the airport with animal when you haven’t pre-arranged how they will be traveling could cause you miss your flight, as you simply won’t be able to leave the pet behind.

Tips for Once You’re At the Airport

Arriving at the airport can be a big moment, especially if you’ve never traveled anywhere by air before. Firstly, always try to arrive at the airport early. Even up to 3 hours before your flight. Once you’re at the airport, however, you don’t need to feel rushed, as you’re unlikely to miss your plane.

Locate Your Check-in Counters

If you’re traveling from a new airport, the first thing you should do when you arrive is to go to the area where you’ll be checking in. Just make sure your check-in counters are where you would’ve thought. As long as you know exactly how to get to your flight check-in, you don’t need to stand and wait there.

Charge Your Mobile Devices

Chances are you’ll be using your phone, tablet or laptop as a source of entertainment throughout the flight. To throughout the flight, your devices will need to be charged. Find a spot near a charging outlet and charge all your devices before you go onboard.

Don’t Be Hurried

Whether you’re waiting to check-in or to board your flight, there’s no need to be in a hurry. Passengers are often scared that their flight will leave without them, but this rarely ever happens. You don’t need to be waiting in the check-in queue the moment your flight is open for check-in. If you’re running late for your flight and the check-in queue is long, an announcement will usually call all the passengers that have not yet checked in to the front, meaning you might even be able to skip the queue.

The earlier you check in your luggage, the longer it will take you to get it on the carousel later. This is because luggage that’s checked in first is loaded into the plane first, so it will also be unpacked last.

The same applies for when boarding starts. There’s no use to queue by your gate ten minutes before boarding even starts. Waiting till the queue disappears before you board can offer many advantages. Once you arrive on the plane, most of the passengers will already be seated, meaning you won’t have to push your way through the busy, narrow passages to get to your seat. As an added benefit, you’ll easily be able to see what seats aren’t taken, which means you could perhaps get a better seat than you booked.

Transport to and from Miami International Airport

Transportation to and from the airport is one of the most important things you’ll have to plan. When planning your transport, remember that you won’t just need space for yourself, but also for all your luggage. Because of this, public transport isn’t a very attractive option for traveling to and from Miami international airport, as you might not have some space of your own to put all your things.

The most popular choices for transport to and from the airport include:

Taking your own car and paying for parking at the airport

Getting a ride through an app

Booking a Miami taxi cab

Taking your own car to go to the airport and paying for parking is a good option if you’re not planning to be away for too long. The downside of leaving your car parked at the airport, however, is that the longer you leave it there, the more expensive parking costs will be.

In some cases, you might just not be able to drive to the airport yourself. This leaves you with two options, either book a ride through an app, or call a taxi service. Both options have advantages and drawbacks. One of the biggest advantages of getting a ride through an app is that it’s usually available 24/7, however, most taxi services offer the same benefit.

Hiring a taxi to take you to the airport offers many advantages. For instance, most taxi services will offer a flat rate to drop you off at the airport and pick you up. You can book a taxi in advance so that your driver is already waiting once you arrive.

Just keep in mind that you’ll likely be charged for any time your driver spends waiting for you, so don’t book for your taxi to fetch you earlier than your flight will be landing. In fact, it’s better to book your taxi to come fetch you approximately one hour after your plane is expected to land. This will give you enough time to get your luggage from the carousel and get through customs before your taxi arrives.

If your flight is late, the extra hour might also help keep you almost on-time, even if you’re a bit late. In cases where you know your flight will be late before you take off, always remember to call your taxi and reschedule the time your driver must come fetch you.